Chapter 1: A Brighter Day

"The nightmare is over." Trunks let out a sigh as his golden aura disappeared, reverting to his normal state. Cell's ki was completely gone, not a trace of him left. It was a strange feeling, safety. Trunks had never known it throughout his entire life. It led to another strange feeling, relief. The purple haired hybrid lifted off into the air, making his way back home.

"Trunks!" The familiar voice of his mother rang through Trunks' ears as he landed softly in front of the giant, though worn down, former Capsule Corp building. "You almost had me worried, son! That green lizard thing, was that the Cell you were talking about?"

"Yes, mother. He is no longer a threat." Trunks assured her just as she ran into his arms, "We are finally safe."

"It's..strange. We no longer have to run. This feeling, I haven't felt this since..well, since Goku was alive. It's been over twenty years." Bulma stepped away from her son and looked down at the grass, sighing softly as she lifted her head back up smiling.

"What is it, Mother?"

"My son, you are the new Goku. You are the greatest hero this world has ever known. I couldn't be prouder of you." Bulma turned away and looked up at the sky with hope, "Now, it's time to rebuild our world. Come with me."

Trunks smiled and followed his mother. He could almost feel the warmth of her hope as they walked together, the sky was bright and the sun truly shined for the first time in what seemed like ages.

A few months later…

The news spread like wildfire, the Androids, a scourge upon the planet the likes of which had never been seen, had been destroyed. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, were leaving their hiding places, coming out into the open for the first time in years. Some hadn't seen sunlight in weeks, months, years. All terrified of the cybernetic killers who had plagued the planet for two decades. They were all gathering in what was formerly known as West City, the home of the newly reopened Capsule Corp, though it was still a shell of its former self.

Bulma had opened the doors for all who would come, providing what shelter and food they could muster in exchange for volunteer work, any help to start rebuilding the world. It was a slow process, but everyone was more than happy to help the hero who had saved their planet.

Trunks was a bit of a celebrity now, many had seen his heroics in the past, but none knew who the golden haired wonder was. That changed drastically, witnesses who had seen him obliterate Android 17 and 18 had spread the word. He couldn't go anywhere out into the world without swarms of people hanging on his every word. It got to the point where Trunks would avoid going outside of his room at all costs, despite his mother's pleas...

"Trunks Brief! You get out here this instant!" Bulma shouted, banging on Trunks' door.

Trunks was looking out the window and over the city. It had grown exponentially bigger in the last few months, but he feared it wasn't fast enough. Startled by his mother's cries, he jumped out of his trance. She was insistent he saw the people everyday, she said he gave them hope and helped them push themselves further. The half-saiyan begrudgingly got up and walked towards the door, "Coming Mother."

The door slid open as Trunks, in his trademark purple jacket and black pants, stepped out the door. "There's my handsome man." Bulma remarked as Trunks sheepishly looked away,

"Mother, that's embarrassing."

"Nobody is around, get over it." Bulma motioned for Trunks to follow her down the hall, "Son, I am proud of our progress these past few months...but we are running out of resources."

Trunks sighed, his fears were indeed coming true, "I was afraid of that, the world just isn't as plentiful as it used to be. Years of destruction takes a toll. Food is scarce, and we can't have people going hungry."

Bulma was surprised her son kept tabs on things, he wasn't anything like his father, Vegeta would have never taken notice of people's struggles. She had guessed she had done a good job of making Trunks more Human than Saiyan. "If we only had Shenron, this wouldn't be a problem..but Piccolo and Kami.."

"They've been gone for a long time. We have to rely on ourselves." Trunks put a comforting hand on his mother's shoulder.

Bulma thought for a second, staring off into space before coming to a quick realization, "But what if we didn't?!" She had a jubilant smile on her face, "I would have never considered it before with the Androids here, but...what if we could get to Porunga?!"

Trunks looked at her strangely, "Porunga? Who is that?"

Bulma laughed, "That's right, you've never been to Namek..Porunga is the dragon of the Namekian Dragon Balls! We could send you to Namek! Well, New Namek, Frieza destroyed the old one."

"Namekian Dragon Balls..that may be a possibility."

"There are a few problems though..whatever technology we had that was suitable for space travel went to the Time Machine..and I don't even know where New Namek is..Goku was going to visit..but he passed before he got the chance."

"I may have the answer to at least one of your problems." Trunks thought for a moment, "What about Gero's lab He may have had some tech capable of space travel?"

"Wasn't it destroyed?"

"The top one was, yes, but in the past Krillin and I found the underground lab where Cell had been kept. That is most likely still intact. I can go check it out!"

"It can't hu-" Before Bulma got the words out of her mouth, Trunks was running down the hallway and out the door, blasting off into the sky. She smiled, "Just when I think I had gotten all of his father out of him..he runs off on a whim, just like Vegeta."

Trunks was headed to what used to be North City, Gero's lab was just north of there. He was sure he remembered the spot, speeding by the ruined metropolis and into the rubble of what used to be the northern mountains.

"It's not gonna look the same as the past, not in this mess." Trunks thought to himself as he moved rocks and rubble, digging around where he remembered Gero's lab to be. "Cell had to leave somewhere, there should be a door or a hole…" Then he spotted it, a small opening in one of the remaining hills, "That must be it."

End of Chapter One